The PMK, the political arm of the Vanniyar community in Tamil Nadu, took strong exception to the suggestion made by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that the Bhagawad Gita be made the national scripture. In a statement on Monday, S Ramadoss, founder of the PMK came down heavily on the Minister’s statement describing it as another attempt to saffronise the country.
“Bhagawd Gita is a book of the bourgeoisie, which belittles hard work and stands for the oppressors. It does not qualify to be a national scripture. If there is any work in India which could be described as a national scripture, it is Thirukural,” Ramadoss said in the statement which was released immediately after the announcement by Vaiko that his party MDMK was quitting the BJP-led NDA alliance.
Ramadoss said that the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a resolution in 2005 asking for the declaration of Thirukural as the national scripture. “The move to declare Gita as national scripture is part of the communal agenda of the BJP. Thirukural is a book of the proletariat ,which salutes hard work and justifies the demands of the working class. The Gita is no match for Thirukural,” he said.
The PMK founder had expressed his displeasure over the move to bring in Sanskrit as the third language in Kendriya Vidyalalays in place of German. He had also opposed the directives by the HRD Ministry to schools in the country to celebrate Sanskrit and Hindi weeks and had termed it saffronisation drive.